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Now, here's today's podcast from Pathway to Victory. Hi, this is Robert Jeffers and I'm glad to study God's Word with you every day on this Bible teaching program. On today's edition of Pathway to Victory, it's possible to love the Word of God, to read the Word of God, to defend the Word of God without ever doing the Word of God. The most dangerous interval in your spiritual life is that period of time between realizing what God wants you to do and actually doing what God wants you to do. Welcome to Pathway to Victory with author and pastor Dr.
Robert Jeffress. Have you ever met someone who can quote scripture effortlessly and knows every Bible story by heart, yet their heart seems completely unchanged by all that head knowledge? Today on Pathway to Victory, Dr. Robert Jeffress explains the difference between merely hearing God's word and putting it into practice. But first, let's take a minute to hear some important ministry updates.
Thanks, David, and welcome again to Pathway to Victory. Through decades of pastoring a church and teaching the Bible, I've discovered something troubling. The most dangerous Christians aren't those who reject God's word. They're those who study it religiously but never apply it. I've watched believers memorize scripture, attend every Bible study, and defend doctrine passionately, yet remain spiritually unchanged.
Well, today I want to show you the life-threatening gap between hearing God's truth and hearing God's truth. And doing it. This message could save your spiritual life if you're brave enough to act on it. Then, remember, Pathway to Victory is pleased to send you a brand new book I've written on this topic. It's called How to Know If You're Really Saved, a study in the book of James.
Do you ever feel like your passion for Christ is waning? Maybe you're harboring some doubt, resentment, or fear. James confronts these barriers head on, with truth that will transform your life. Plus, you'll acquire practical tools that'll move you from religious activity to spiritual vitality. Let us send you my book, How to Know If You're Really Saved.
It's yours when you include a much needed gift to support the ministry of Pathway to Victory. In fact, later in today's program, we'll explain the other resources for this teaching series, including a group discussion guide. But right now, it's time to continue a study that started Tuesday on Pathway to Victory. Teaching from James chapter 1, I titled today's message, Mirror, Mirror on the Wall. We have been called to be doers of the Word of God and not hearers only.
And that's the point of the passage we're going to look at today. If you have your Bibles, turn to James chapter 1. Commentator Ron Blue says there are three action points in this passage. First of all, if we're truly saved, we will accept the Word of God. Secondly, we will act on the Word of God.
And thirdly, we will abide in the Word of God.
Now, for the few minutes we have, let's unpack those commands in just a moment. We're to first of all accept the Word of God. Look at verse 19. This you know, my beloved brethren, but everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak. and slow to anger.
He goes on to say in verse 21: to accept the word of God means to receive the word of God. Look at verse 21. Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all the remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your soul. Would you underline that word filthiness in verse 21? That word filthiness in Greek is the word rupas.
The word rupas. refers to the buildup of wax in a person's ear. If you want to hear God speak to you, part of accepting God's word is removing the spiritual wax, the filthiness that keeps you from truly hearing God. Many people can't hear from God when they read the Bible. They can't hear from God because they've had this sin that is built up in their life that makes them spiritually deaf.
The word implanted, he goes on to say, verse 21: to accept God's word means to allow the word to implant it. Just like a seed is implanted in soil before it can grow, we need to let the word of God become implanted in our hearts. What does that mean? The best thing you can do to keep your heart ready. To receive the word of God.
is to make sure you're obeying what you already know to be true. The most dangerous thing you can do To your spiritual heart is to engage in selective obedience to God. We need to accept the Word of God. Secondly, we need to act. On the Word of God.
Look at verse 22. Once we've accepted God's Word, Once we've welcomed it into our hearts to do its work, we need to act on the Word of God. Look at verse 22. But prove yourselves doers of the Word and not merely hearers. who delude themselves.
I want you to listen to this very carefully. It's worth the price of the sermon. Best quote I've come across in years comes from the late Bible teacher Warren Worsby. He said, Many people have the mistaken idea. That hearing a good sermon or Bible study is what makes them grow and gets God's blessings.
It is not the hearing, but but the doing that brings the blessing. Too many Christians mark their Bibles But their Bibles never mark them. If you think you are spiritual because you have heard the word of God. then you are only kidding yourselves. Isn't that what James says?
If you think hearing the word of God is enough, you are deluding yourself, is what the scripture says. You are deceiving yourself. Don't be deceived. Do you know Satan really doesn't care that much whether you come to the worship services of First Baptist Church Dallas. He doesn't care that much if you come.
What causes him to shake in his boots is the possibility that you might apply on Monday something you heard on Sunday. That's what threatens the gates of hell. No, don't be just hearers of the word, be doers of the word. In fact, he gives this illustration. Look at verse 23.
If anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror. For once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. Here is a Hopefully, only a man would do this. Look into the mirror and see whiskers that need to be shaven. Or maybe a lady looking into a mirror and she sees remnants of makeup from yesterday that need to be removed.
There's something that needs to be removed. And yet, they go away. having not taken care of business.
Now some people say, well, the mistake here is that the person only looks briefly into the mirror. He doesn't study it and contemplate it. Maybe that's what he's saying.
Somebody doesn't look intently at the Word of God. No, this Greek word for look means to gaze at, to study carefully. The problem is not that the person doesn't know his face is dirty. The problem is, even though he realizes his face is dirty, He gets distracted and ends up doing nothing about it. He walks away without cleaning his face.
So, is a person who studies God's word, knows what's wrong. But never acts upon it. The most dangerous interval in your spiritual life. Is that the period of time between realizing what God wants you to do? And actually, doing what God wants you to do.
The longer that interval between realizing. and doing, the longer that interval, the greater foothold Satan can gain in your life. Be doers of the word, and not hearers only. How do we do that? We accept the Word of God.
We act on the Word of God. Thirdly, we abide in the Word of God. Abide in the Word of God. Look at verse 25. But one who looks intently at the perfect law.
God's word is a mirror that reveals who we are. One who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, abides by it, not having become forgetful, but an effectual doer. This man will be blessed in what he does. What does it mean to abide in the word of God? The word abide in Greek means to practice over and over again.
Not occasionally. But constantly. You know, somebody training for a marathon who only runs a couple of miles every fourth day isn't going to be ready for the marathon.
Somebody who wants to be proficient at playing a musical instrument who rehearses and practices 15 minutes every other Wednesday isn't going to master the instrument. It takes practice over and over again. To abide in the Word of God doesn't mean to just accept and act on God's Word occasionally when it's convenient, when you get under enough conviction. It means it's the rule of life to do the word of God. Psalm 1 says, A person who does that is like a tree planted by water that bears fruit, not just occasionally, but every season.
without fail. How do you do that? The last eight or nine minutes that we have today, I want to give you five very practical ways that you can abide in God's Word to receive the blessings of God. First of all, Abiding begins with listening to God's word. Romans 10:17 says, Faith comes by hearing and hearing the word of God.
Do you realize it wasn't that many years ago? That if you wanted to hear God's Word proclaimed, you had to come to church at 11 a.m. every Sunday, and you might get one message from God's Word a week. That's the way it was. And if you miss that Sunday, you got no message from God's Word.
It's just in recent years that we've had the advent of Christian radio and Christian podcasts that allow us to listen to God's Word 24-7. I think that's a gift from God. I think God knew that this world was going to become so sin-filled and dirty that we needed not just once a week, we needed a once-a-day. Intake through the eargate of the word of God to keep us spiritually clean. And I'm so glad we have a church that has a vision for broadcasting, broadly casting God's word, not just to win people to faith in Christ, but to help saved people know how to live and deal with the challenge of living in this sin and corrupted world.
You know, our Pathway to Victory ministry is such a great important ministry, not only for winning people to Christ, but helping Christians to live. And we get letters like this every week. I've got one this week. I read it on the air. It said, Pastor, I've listened to your program on my commute to work every morning.
He said, It is uncanny how many times what you preached about. was preparing me for dealing with the problems I was going to face that day. I didn't know, you didn't know, but God knew, and He had me listen for just this message. We hear that over and over again. There's a value in listening to God's word regularly.
Let me encourage you: if you're spending time in the car for any serious amount of time, don't listen to talk radio. It's only going to make you angrier than you already are. Don't listen to that. Listen to the Word of God. Only the Word of God is able to change your life.
Only the Word of God can truly encourage you, and we all need encouragement. Have a regular program for listening to the Word of God. Secondly, to abide in God's Word goes beyond listening, it means to read the Word of God. Psalm 119, verse 18: Open my what? My eyes, that I might behold wonderful things from your law.
Every Christian needs three things when it comes to reading the Word of God. We need a place. That we do it, a regular place. We need a period of time that we do it. And by the way, if you're not a morning person, that's okay.
Don't read God's word when you're half asleep. That doesn't do anything. Find a time of day that works for you, maybe over lunch or before you go to bed at night. A place, a period, and then, of course, a Bible. People ask me all the time: what's the right translation to read?
Answer anyone that speaks to you. There's really no major differences between the major translations, whether it's the New American Standard, the New International Version, the King James Version. If you're new to reading God's Word and it doesn't quite communicate to you, get a paraphrase like the Living Bible. You know, Billy Graham used to say he read a chapter of the living Bible every day of his life. And I tell people, if it's good enough for Billy Graham, it's good enough for us.
Just read some translation that speaks to you and make it a regular part of your life. Thirdly, we need to study God's Word. It's not enough just to listen, to even read. We need to study God's Word. You know what the difference is between an explorer and a tourist.
A tourist is the guy who pulls up to the Grand Canyon, looks at it for five minutes, and says, that's nice, and off he goes to the next highlight. An explorer is somebody who studies carefully. what he's seeing. There's a difference between being an explorer and a tourist in God's Word.
Sometimes, as you're reading the Bible, And don't feel like you have to rush through to read the Bible in a year. I say, why read it in just one year when it took 1,600 years to write? If it takes you two years, read two chapters a day or one chapter a day. It's not a question of how many times you've been through the Bible. The question is, how many times has the Bible been through you?
Study God's Word. When you're reading a passage, if there's a word that you need to find out what it means, write it down. If there's a passage that raises questions, write it down. And then go back and study it. Let me tell you: two ways to get started in studying God's Word beyond going to a Sunday school class that will help you understand God's Word.
Man, we've got the most gifted teachers, seminary professors in our church, and they can help you understand God's Word. But when you're reading the Bible, use a study Bible. Study Bibles have notes for many problematic passages that you may have questions about. I use the Ryrie Study Bible that was written by our former late member, Dr. Charles Ryrie.
There are other great study Bibles. Use that and then have a commentary available. If you're just getting started in Bible study, I'd suggest the Bible Knowledge Commentary. put out by David C. Cook Publishers.
It's two volumes, the Old Testament and the New Testament. It was written by professors from Dallas Seminary, and it's arranged by Books of the Bible. It's a great tool to use in looking up a passage you might not understand. Studying God's Word. Fourthly, meditate on God's Word.
Now, here's where we're getting to the meat of the issue. We're to meditate on God's Word. You know, Psalm 1 says, How blessed are God. How happy are those who do not take evil men's advice, who do not hang around with sinners scoffing at the things of God, but they delight in doing what God wants them to do. And day and night are meditating on God's word, thinking of ways to follow him more closely.
To meditate on scripture doesn't mean to put yourself in a hypnotic trance. God's word, God's word, speak to me. That's not what meditate means. The word meditate means to mutter to yourself. to talk to yourself.
It's a picture of somebody who is so engrossed in the Word of God, he keeps turning it over and over in his mind, thinking, how does this apply to me? What do I need to do differently in my life as a result of this truth I've read? Ladies and gentlemen, your reading of the Bible is not complete until you've asked yourself the question, what am I going to do differently tomorrow because of the truth I've read today? And let me say to you Bible teachers out there, we've got great Bible teachers, but your teaching isn't complete if you've only told people what the passage says and what it means. You need to take that final step.
What does it mean to my students? Give them practical applications from the Word of God. The person who does that, who meditates on God's word day and night, is the person blessed by God. And then finally, and ultimately, to abide in God's Word means to obey God's Word. 1 John 2:17 says, The world is passing away, and also its lusts.
But the one who does the will of God lives forever. The one who does the will of God lives forever. Dr. George W. Truitt, who is pastor of our church for 50 years.
Defines success this way. He said, success is knowing God's word. and doing it. Is there a command you need to obey? Do it.
Is there a gift you need to give? Do it. Is there someone you need to forgive? Do it. Is there a relationship that needs to be reconciled?
Do it. Doing, just not hearing the word of God. Listen to me. If you don't remember anything else I say, remember this: no act of obedience. No matter how small it is, no act of obedience is inconsequential to God.
Whether it's saying no to a temptation or saying yes to some everyday mundane responsibility. God sees. And God rewards your obedience. I came across something that really spoke to me. Author Philip Yancey illustrates the importance of doing even the small things that are part of God's will.
To have big results in your life. He was talking about a documentary he saw on TV about some of the survivors of World War II. He wrote, The soldiers in that documentary recalled how they spent a particular day. One sat in a foxhole all day. Once or twice a German tank drove by and he shot at it.
Others played cards and frittered away the time. A few got involved in furious firefights. But mostly, the day passed like any other day for an infantryman on the front lines. Later, these soldiers learned. They had just participated in one of the largest, most decisive battles of World War II, the Battle of the Bulge.
It didn't feel decisive to any of them at the time. because none had the big picture of what was happening elsewhere. They get this. Great victories are won. when ordinary people execute their assigned tasks.
And a faithful person does not debate each day whether he or she is in the mood to follow the sergeant's orders or show up at a boring job. We exercise faith. by responding to the task at hand. For we have control only over our actions in the present moment. That's what James has in mind when he says, Be doers of the word.
and not hearers only. I'm so glad you chose to listen to Pathway to Victory today. The fact that you're here right now is good evidence that you want to be a doer of the word. Pathway to Victory is devoted to helping you take your next steps so that you learn to turn your trials into triumphs. To that end, today we're pleased to offer a book I've written for you.
In my book, How to Know If You're Really Saved, I confront the dangerous gap between biblical knowledge and spiritual transformation. In the chapter called Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, I reveal why studying scripture without applying it is spiritually deadly. I'll give you five practical steps to move from passive hearing to active obedience, showing you concrete ways to evaluate your spiritual authenticity. you'll learn to recognize the warning signs of superficial faith. And develop habits that produce genuine spiritual growth and God's blessing.
This book is the perfect choice for your small group Bible study at church or to share with your friends and family. I'm pleased to send you my book, How to Know If You're Really Saved, when you give a generous gift to support the ministry of Pathway to Victory. And thanks for giving your best gift today. Polls tell us what we already know to be true. Fewer and fewer adults are attending church, which means that fewer and fewer people are learning what it truly means to be saved.
My friend. Please do what God has asked you to do. Your support will become the lifeline to someone who hears the truth about salvation for the very first time. Here's David with all the details. When you support the Ministry of Pathway to Victory by giving a generous gift, we'll say thanks by sending you the brand new book by Dr.
Robert Jeffress, How to Know If You're Really Saved. To request your copy, call 866-999-2965 or go online to ptv.org. And when you give $75 or more, we'll also send you all 12 messages from the brand new How to Know If You're Really Saved teaching series. These messages come on both DVD video and MP3 format audio discs, and they even come with a personal and group study guide. Again, call 866-999-2965 or go online to ptv.org.
If you'd prefer to send your donation by mail, write to PO Box 223-609-Dallas, Texas, 75-222. That's P.O. Box 223-609, Dallas, Texas, 75222. I'm David J. Mullins.
In daily life, we often see preferential treatment given to those who seem wealthy or important. But God's house should be different. Learn what to do when Mr. Goldfinger comes to church. That's Thursday on Pathway to Victory.
Pathway to Victory with Dr. Robert Jeffers comes from the pulpit of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas. Experience the breathtaking majesty of America's last frontier on the 2026 Pathway to Victory cruise to Alaska. Board Holland America's luxurious Conningsdam ship with Amy and me for a journey that will refresh your soul and renew your spirit. Experience the unforgettable adventure, June 13 through 20, 2026.
To book your cabin, call 888-280-6747 or go to ptv.org. You made it to the end of today's podcast from Pathway to Victory, and we're so glad you're here. Pathway to Victory relies on the generosity of loyal listeners like you to make this podcast possible. One of the most impactful ways you can give is by becoming a Pathway Partner. Your monthly gift will empower Pathway to Victory to share the gospel of Jesus Christ and help others become rooted more firmly in His Word.
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