Be Doers, Not Hearers Only: The Missing Message in Christian Content

Faith Without Works Is Dead—So Why Isn't Anyone Teaching Us to Walk?

We live in an age of unprecedented access to biblical teaching. With a few taps on our smartphones, we can listen to sermons, watch theological debates, and dive into in-depth Bible studies. Christian content creators fill our feeds with scripture breakdowns, word studies, and doctrinal discussions. Yet something vital is missing from this digital discipleship landscape: teaching believers how to actually do the Word of God.

We are quick to call out false teachers who twist scripture to fit their agendas. We rightly expose those who water down the gospel or promote prosperity theology. But where is the same urgency to address those who create content that stops at knowledge without ever challenging believers to walk in obedient faith? The absence of practical, action-oriented teaching is not just disappointing—it is dangerous.

The Biblical Mandate: Be Doers, Not Hearers Only

James delivers one of the most straightforward rebukes in all of Scripture: "But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves" (James 1:22 KJV). This is not a suggestion or a secondary doctrine—it is a foundational command. Yet much of modern Christian content seems designed to produce hearers who are satisfied with accumulating knowledge while their faith remains dormant.

James continues with a piercing illustration: "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: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was" (James 1:23-24 KJV). How many believers consume hours of teaching content each week, nodding in agreement, only to live unchanged lives? They look into the mirror of God's Word but walk away without transformation.

The Apostle Paul understood that knowledge without action breeds spiritual pride: "Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth" (1 Corinthians 8:1 KJV). When content creators focus solely on information transfer without practical application, they risk producing Christians who are intellectually informed but spiritually ineffective.

Jesus Taught Action, Not Just Academics

Consider how Jesus concluded His greatest sermon. After teaching profound truths on the mountainside, He didn't say, "Go and study these words." Instead, He declared: "Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock" (Matthew 7:24 KJV). The wise builder is not the one who can exegete the sermon—it is the one who does what Jesus taught.

Jesus repeatedly emphasized this connection between love and obedience: "If ye love me, keep my commandments" (John 14:15 KJV). And again: "He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me" (John 14:21 KJV). Our Lord never separated knowing Him from following Him. Yet many content creators today present a Christianity where understanding doctrine is sufficient, regardless of whether it transforms behaviour.

When Jesus commissioned His disciples, He commanded them to teach others to observe all things He had commanded (Matthew 28:20 KJV). The Great Commission is not a call to create theological scholars but to make disciples who walk in obedience.

The Problem with Perpetual Bible Study

Please understand: Bible study is essential. Paul instructed Timothy to "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" (2 Timothy 2:15 KJV). The Bereans were commended for searching the Scriptures daily (Acts 17:11 KJV). Knowledge of God's Word is foundational.

But when study becomes an end in itself rather than a means to obedience, it misses the mark. Many believers today are trapped in a cycle of perpetual learning that never leads to action. They attend Bible study after Bible study, watch teaching video after teaching video, and engage in theological debates—all while the Great Commission goes unfulfilled and the needs around them go unmet.

Paul warned Timothy about people who are "Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth" (2 Timothy 3:7 KJV). How many Christians today are ever studying but never arriving at the place where faith demands action?

Faith Without Works Is Dead

James makes an uncomfortable declaration: "Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone" (James 2:17 KJV). He goes further: "Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works" (James 2:18 KJV). Faith that does not produce action is not biblical faith—it is intellectual assent masquerading as saving belief.

Where are the content creators teaching believers how to walk by faith? Where are the videos showing Christians how to pray for the sick, share the gospel with strangers, serve the poor, or stand boldly for righteousness in their workplaces? Why do we have countless hours of content on Greek verb tenses but so little on how to actually forgive an enemy, trust God with your finances, or make disciples?

A Call to Content Creators

Christian content creators bear a significant responsibility. Paul reminded Timothy that those who teach will face stricter judgment (James 3:1 KJV). If we are faithful to call out false teaching, we must be equally faithful to address incomplete teaching that produces passive, ineffective believers.

We need content that challenges Christians to step out in faith. We need teaching that equips believers to be "thoroughly furnished unto all good works" (2 Timothy 3:17 KJV). We need creators who will say, as Paul did: "Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ" (1 Corinthians 11:1 KJV)—not just in doctrine, but in life.

What Does Doing the Word Look Like?

The Scriptures are filled with clear commands for action:

• "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:15 KJV)
• "Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction" (James 1:27 KJV)
• "Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ" (Galatians 6:2 KJV)
• "And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not" (Galatians 6:9 KJV)

These are not suggestions for super-spiritual Christians. They are instructions for all believers. Where is the content teaching us how to obey these commands in our daily lives?

The Time for Action Is Now

Paul urged the Ephesian believers: "Redeeming the time, because the days are evil" (Ephesians 5:16 KJV). We live in urgent times that demand active, engaged Christianity—not passive consumers of religious content.

Christian content creators, the Church needs you to do more than inform. Challenge us. Convict us. Inspire us to walk out our faith with courage and obedience. Stop catering to audiences who want comfortable, non-threatening content that requires nothing of them.

And to every believer reading this: "But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?" (James 2:20 KJV). Close this article and do something. Put God's Word into action today. Be a doer, not just a hearer…

Key Takeaways:

• Faith requires action, not just knowledge — James 1:22 KJV commands us to be doers of the Word, not hearers only. Consuming Christian content without obedience is self-deception.
• Jesus emphasised obedience as proof of love — "If ye love me, keep my commandments" (John 14:15 KJV). True discipleship means walking in obedience, not just understanding doctrine.
• Perpetual learning without action misses the mark — Many believers are trapped in endless Bible studies without ever putting faith into practice. Paul warned about those "ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth" (2 Timothy 3:7 KJV).
• Faith without works is dead — James 2:17 KJV declares that faith without corresponding action is not biblical faith at all, but mere intellectual assent.
• Content creators must teach practical obedience — Christian content should equip believers for "all good works" (2 Timothy 3:17 KJV), showing them how to share the gospel, serve the poor, pray for the sick, and live out their faith daily.
• The time for action is now — Ephesians 5:16 KJV urges us to redeem the time because the days are evil. The Church needs transformation, not just information.