G4163 ποιητής (poiētḗs)

Doers (4163)(poietes from poieo = to do, to make, to accomplish) describes one who does something as his occupation such as a producer, a poet or an author. The other sense describes a doer or a performer, speaking of one who does what is prescribed, such as one who keeps the law (Ro 2:13-note) Those who belong to Jesus are marked in ear and foot, for not only do they hear God's voice in His Word of truth but they walk in His way. Doers thus emphasizes what they are rather than just what they do. One commentator describes a doer as "a person whose life is characterized by holy energy." As Martin Luther once said... The world does not need a definition of religion as much as it needs a demonstration. Steven Cole makes the point that... Obedience should always be the bottom line of Bible study or biblical preaching. Correct application (see Application) must always be built on correct interpretation (see Interpretation). But to study the word just to fill your head with knowledge, without applying the word, short-circuits God’s purpose in giving it. Even seemingly irrelevant matters, such as biblical genealogies, are “profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness” (2Ti 3:16-note). (James 1:22-27 Doers of the Word) There are seven NT uses of poietes (and none in the non-apocryphal Septuagint) most of the uses being by James... Acts 17:28 for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, 'For we also are His offspring.' (Comment: Obviously here poietes has the special classical sense of "poets.") Romans 2:13 (note) for not the hearers of the Law are just before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified. James 1:22 (note) But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. James 1:23 (note) For 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; James 1:25 (note) But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man shall be blessed in what he does. James 4:11 Do not speak against one another, brethren. He who speaks against a brother, or judges his brother, speaks against the law, and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law, but a judge of it. Paul R VanGorder observed that... Many Christians have allowed their knowledge of the truth to outdistance their practice. They remind me of a story in Glad Tidings by James Kallam. He tells of a young book salesman who was assigned to a rural area. Seeing a former seated in a rocking chair on his front porch, the young man approached him with all the zeal of a newly trained salesman. “Sir,” he said, “I have here a book that will tell you how to farm 10 times better than you are doing it now.” The farmer continued to rock. After a few seconds he stopped, looked at the young fellow and said, “Son, I don’t need your book. I already know how to farm 10 times better than I’m doing it now.” Pastor Steven Cole has an amusing story related doers of the word... Pastor Stuart Briscoe was teaching the principles of Bible study. He showed how to pick out the promises and the commands in Scripture, and what to do with them. Finally, he reviewed and asked, “Now, what do you do with the commands?” A little old lady raised her hand and said, “I underline them in blue.” Underlining the Bible’s commands in blue might make for a colorful Bible, but the point of the commands is that we obey them. Unfortunately, there are many people in evangelical churches who have their heads filled with information from the Bible, but they don’t obey what the Bible commands. That may sound harsh, but surveys commonly show that there is substantially no difference between evangelical Christians and the population at large on most moral and social beliefs and behavior. For example, pollster George Barna (in World [12/6/03], p. 33) found that one out of three “born-again Christians” (defined as “those who report having made a personal commitment to Christ and expect to get to heaven because they accepted Jesus”) accept same-sex unions. Thirty-nine percent believe it is morally acceptable for couples to live together before marriage. And, born-again Christians are more likely than non-Christians to have experienced divorce (27 to 24 %)! James would be aghast! Although the readers to whom he wrote differ from the modern church, his message is just as relevant now as it was when he wrote it. He’s saying, To hear the word and not do it leads to deception, but to hear the word and do it leads to blessing. (James 1:22-27 Doers of the Word)