James 1:22-25
[22]But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
[23]For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:
[24]For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.
[25]But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.
“Deceiving your own selves” mean acting what you are not, acting beside yourself, forgetting the life you have because he looks into the mirror and forgets what he saw. In the mirror is your real face who you are in Christ. In the mirror you see Christ and christ is your identity, your image.
Nobody has identity outside Christ, because Christ is our identity, So anyone outside Christ is non entity. God designed that anyone who will live will live in Christ, anyone who has Christ has life.
In this case the problem is not hearing but doing. He goes and forgets “what manner of manner he was” not he is because he has put on another identity that he is not. The reason we fail cheaply to sin is because we are forgetful hearers.
The word of God is the mirror and the mirror is the perfect law of liberty. What do we see when we look at the perfect law of liberty, it shows us what Christ has done for us. The law of liberty is not the whole bible, it is e not the law of moses nor is it the law of sin and death.
Romans 8:2-3
[2]For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
[3]For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh.
The way not to act what you are not or act beside oneself is by continuing or by always looking at the mirror and in the mirror we see that we have eternal life. How will the world know that God is life. It is by doing the Word. Doing the word is different from obeying the word. In the old testament obeying the word when the law was given but we in the new are asked to do the word. To do the word means to give the word expression because it is written on our hearts. In the new testament we have obeyed the word by putting faith in Christ who obeyed the law. His obedience is our obedience.
John 1:1-3
[1]In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
[2]The same was in the beginning with God.
[3]All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
To do the word is to give the word expression and jesus Christ is the word. “By Him” not “by it”. The word is given a personality in the third verse. Christ is the word and we are the offspring of the word. We are a prophecy and prophecy from God can’t be aborted, it cannot come back without fulfilling the purpose for which it has been sent. If Christ is the word and what is true about christ is true about us, then we are the word. So we dont estimate the believer worldly point of view.
2 Corinthians 5:16-17
[16]Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more.
[17]Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
We dont evaluate or estimate their weakness, people of the Word dont castigate, they dont run down other believers they pray for them because they understand that as Christ so are we in the world. This is our idenification, our identity is with Christ.
In looking at the perfect law pf liberty, you see yourselve because as he is so are you. Once you know that you are an offspring of the word a product of the word, you would do the word. Because you can’t give what you don’t have and this is not just what you have, it is what you are: the word in flesh.
2 Corinthians 3:3
[3]Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.
So we are living letter, written by God !!
James 1:18
[18]Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
So before james asks us to do the word he tells us we are the word. So if we are to look into the perfect law who then would you see? Yourself ! The word and doing the Word is not hard when you know you are the Word.
1 Peter 1:23
[23]Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.
If goat gives birth to goat and lion to lion what will the Word give birth to? Of the Word will give birth to the Word. The Sperm that gives birth to me is everlasting, ever living and immortal, that makes you everlasting, ever living and immortal. Christ is your identity, any address given to christ is given to you. Amen..