Greek: Ginesthe (2PPMM) de poietai logou kai me monon akroatai paralogizomenoi (PMPMPN) heautous.
Amplified: But be doers of the Word [obey the message], and not merely listeners to it, betraying yourselves [into deception by reasoning contrary to the Truth]. (Amplified Bible - Lockman)
ASV:  But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deluding your own selves.
Hiebert:  Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.
KJV: But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
NLT:  And remember, it is a message to obey, not just to listen to. If you don't obey, you are only fooling yourself. (NLT - Tyndale House)
Phillips: Don't I beg you, only hear the message, but put it into practice; otherwise you are merely deluding yourselves.  (Phillips: Touchstone)

BUT PROVE YOURSELVES DOERS OF THE WORD: Ginesthe (2PPMM) de poietai logou: (James 4:17; Matthew 7:21, 22, 23, 24, 25; 12:50; 28:20; Luke 6:46, 47, 48; 11:28; 12:47,48; John 13:17; Romans 2:13; Philippians 4:8; Colossians 3:17; 1John 2:3; 3:7; 3John 1:11; Revelation 22:7)

James has just charged his readers to welcome the Word of Truth and in this section he elaborates on what it means to receive the Word, showing that genuine acceptance of the Word is marked by doing of the Word. To fall short of achieving that objective is to delude one's self into the attitude "I'm okay." To the contrary, the reality of one's faith (that he really is "Okay" with God!) is demonstrated by one's obedient life! In short, James says that our hearing must be balanced with and backed up by our doing.

Even Jewish rabbis like Gamaliel taught that...

Not the expounding [of the law] is the chief thing, but the doing [of it].

Later in this same epistle James makes a parallel statement...

Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do, and does not do it, to him it is sin. (Jas 4:17)

Jesus said that...

whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother. (Mt 12:50)

But He said, "On the contrary (see Lk 11:27), blessed are those who hear (present tense = continually)  the word of God, and observe (present tense = continually) it." (Lk 11:28)

If you know these things, you are blessed if you do (poieo - present tense = continually) them. (John 13:17)

In His the great commission Jesus reiterated the importance of hearing and doing charging His followers to go and make disciples...

teaching (present tense = continually) them to observe (present tense = continually) all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. (Mt 28:20)

Paul taught this same truth emphasizing that...

It is not the hearers of the Law are just before God, but the doers (poietes - same word James uses in this verse) of the Law will be justified. (Ro 2:13-note)

Comment: Paul was not teaching that a man is justified (declared righteous) by keeping the Law but that the one who is genuinely justified will show himself or herself to be justified by the fact that they are "doers of the Law." They "do" the Law, because it is now written in their hearts and they have the Holy Spirit abiding within to enable them to keep the Law. Their keeping of the Law does not save them but shows they are genuinely saved.

John also emphasized doing of the Word of Truth as a clear marker that one truly belongs to Christ, writing that...

by this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep (present tense = continually, not perfectly for no man can do that in this life, but "keeping" as the general direction of one's life) His commandments. The one who says, "I have come to know Him," and does not keep (present tense = continually) His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is (present tense = continually) not in him. (1Jn 2:3, 4)

Comment: Beloved, could it have stated any more plainly?! Beware of false teachers who claim you can "ask Jesus into your heart" and then go along your merry way for the rest of your life and never have a desire (or power) to obey the Word of Truth. Pithily put - The Truth is not in this person according to the apostle John! Do not be deceived by "another gospel" which is really not "good news" at all! (cp 1Jn 3:7 and Ga 1:6, 7, 8, 9).

Hiebert introduces this section of James with the comment that...

Wholehearted acceptance of the Word must result in active obedience to the Word. Such obeying of the Word constitutes the essence of a living faith. These verses express James's central concern. Jas 1:22, 23, 24, 25 state and illustrate the need for active obedience to the Word, and Jas 1:26, 27 portray the true nature of religious obedience. (Commentary on James)

Vance Havner quipped that...

We need an outbreak of holy heartburn, when hearers shall be doers, when congregations shall go out from meetings to do things for God.

But (1161) (de) normally identifies a contrast (see contrasts) but in this case functions  to indicate that something must be added to what James has just said -- he is not interested in his readers just being  hearers but also becoming doers of the Word of Truth.

MacArthur adds that

Those who consistently disobey God’s Word give evidence that they are without His life within them. Those who consistently obey the Word give evidence of the life of God in their souls. As noted several times in earlier chapters, that is the central theme of James’s epistle... a true believer will not be inwardly satisfied with merely knowing the Word. His conscience and the prompting of the indwelling Holy Spirit will keep convicting him of his failure until he becomes obedient. (Macarthur J. James. Moody or Logos)

A R Faussett writes that in this verse James gives the

Qualification of the precept, “Be swift to hear”: “Be ye doers … not hearers only”; not merely “Do the word,” but “Be doers” systematically and continually, as if this was your regular business. James here again refers to the Sermon on the Mount (Mt 7:21-note, Mt 7:22, 23-note, Mt 7:24, 25-note, Mt 7:26, 27-note, Mt 7:28, 29-note).

Prove (1096)(ginomai) means to become or to come into or bring into existence and in this verse the idea is we are to continually become doers or as Rotherham renders it "Become ye doers." Doing always supercedes simply hearing. Hear and heed is the point. Don't be a Word hearing, non-doing hypocrite - intellectually stuffed, but falling short of spiritual impact.

The present imperative calls for doing of the word to be the habitual practice or lifestyle of his readers. James demands that doing be their continual practice. Believers are never to stop being doers of the Word! Keep on striving to be doers.

There is a deceptive danger in churches where the Word of Truth is faithfully preached, for many walk away with the mistaken concept that simply sitting under a godly, gifted pastor and listening to his message will automatically result in their spiritual growth. As someone has well said, too many believers mark their Bibles but fail to allow their Bible to mark them and direct their life. This is a dangerous deception in the modern day church. Never think you are "safe" and spiritually maturing simply because you are hearing the Word.

In His concluding remarks to the greatest sermon ever preached Jesus emphasized hearing and doing declaring...

Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine, and acts upon them, may be compared to a wise man, who built his house upon the rock. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and burst against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded upon the rock. And everyone who hears these words of Mine, and does not act upon them, will be like a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and burst against that house; and it fell, and great was its fall." (Mt 7:24, 25-note, Mt 7:26, 27-note).

MacArthur writes that here James

is describing characteristic behavior, not occasional activity. It is one thing to fight; it is something else to be a soldier. It is one thing to build a shed; it is something else to be a builder. James is not merely challenging his readers to do the Word; he is telling them that real Christians are doers of the Word. That describes the basic disposition of those who believe unto salvation. (Faith According To The Apostle James. In Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, Volume 33, 1990)

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)

Word (3056) (logos from légō = to speak with words; English = logic, logical) means something said and describes a communication whereby the mind finds expression in words. Although Lógos is most often translated word which Webster defines as "something that is said, a statement, an utterance", the Greek understanding of lógos is somewhat more complex. In the Greek mind and as used by secular and philosophical Greek writers, lógos did not mean merely the name of an object but was an expression of the thought behind that object's name. Let me illustrate this somewhat subtle nuance in the meaning of lógos with an example from the Septuagint (LXX) (Greek of the Hebrew OT) in which lógos is used in the well known phrase the Ten Commandments.

The story is told of...

King Edward VI of England who attended worship service and stood while the Word of God was read taking notes which he later studied with great care. Throughout the week King Edward earnestly tried to apply them to his life. That’s the kind of serious-minded response to truth the James means when he says "Be doers of the Word...". A single revealed fact cherished in the heart and acted upon is more vital to our growth than a head filled with lofty ideas about God.

Oswald Chambers said it well...

One step forward in obedience is worth years of study about it.

'Take Heed How Ye Hear It is important that we hear. It is important what we hear. It is important how we hear what we hear.

1. Consider the privilege of hearing the Word of God. We take it for granted in America. Few people would want to live where there are no churches but millions live as though there were no churches. Multitudes the world around cannot hear the truth of God for various reasons. As lightly as we regard it now, this privilege cost aplenty in days gone by. And how grateful we ought to be that God has spoken both in His Book and in His Son! What if He had remained silent and there were no word from heaven!

2. Along with privilege goes responsibility. Where much is given, much shall be required. Today sees a famine of the hearing of God's Word, not because we cannot hear it, but because we do not listen to it. Moreover, as the text declares, there is the duty of doing it when we hear it. Throughout the Bible runs the note, "My commandments to do them"; "Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you."

3. Often overlooked in our text and almost never quoted is the penalty for not doing the Word we hear, "Deceiving your own selves." Away with the notion that it does not matter much how we hear! The man who hears and refuses to obey walks out of church having betrayed himself into deception. One cannot hear the truth and remain the same. (Vance Havner)

D L Moody's example of doing...

While D. L. Moody was attending a convention in Indianapolis on mass evangelism, he asked his song leader Ira Sankey to meet him at 6 o’clock one evening at a certain street corner. When Sankey arrived, Mr. Moody asked him to stand on a box and sing. Once a crowd had gathered, Moody spoke briefly and then invited the people to follow him to the nearby convention hall. Soon the auditorium was filled with spiritually hungry people, and the great evangelist preached the gospel to them. Then the convention delegates began to arrive. Moody stopped preaching and said, “Now we must close, as the brethren of the convention wish to come and discuss the topic, ‘How to reach the masses.’“ And thus the "uneducated" Moody graphically illustrated the difference between talking about doing something and going out and doing it.

Superficial hearing without sincere doing is like the breezes that ripple the surface of the ocean, but do not affect the tides or the gulf stream.

AND NOT MERELY HEARERS WHO DELUDE THEMSELVES: kai me monon akroatai paralogizomenoi (PMPMPN) heautous: (Jas 1:26; Is 44:20; Obadiah 1:3; 1Co 3:18; 6:9; 15:33; Gal 6:3,7; 2Ti 3:13; Titus 3:3; 2Pe 2:13; 1Jn 1:8; Rev 12:9)

Not (3361) (me) is the relative negative

Augustine said that...

The hearer of God's Word ought to be like those animals that chew the cud; he ought not only to feed upon it, but to ruminate upon it.

Hearers (202) (akroates from akroaomai = to listen or hear) first describes one who hears referring primarily to the perception of sounds by the sense of hearing. The use of this term by James again implies that in ancient times their was frequent public reading of the Scriptures along with oral instruction.

Recalling that James is addressing his Jewish brethren, Rogers' note is interesting...

In the Jewish home, the education process, and in the synagogue worship, the hearing of the Law read aloud played an important part in Jewish life. The rabbis also stressed very strongly the necessity of keeping the Law (Ed note: But of course they were forced to rely on faulty human power, whereas believers are to rely solely on the Spirit power.) (Rogers, C L - originally by Fritz Rienecker: New Linguistic and Exegetical Key to the Greek New Testament. Zondervan. 1998)

Akroates is used 3 times by James here in chapter 1 (see notes James 1:22; 1:23 ; 1:25)

Romans 2:13 (note) for not (ou = absolute negation = no exceptions!) the hearers (akroates) of the Law are just (dikaios = rightly related to God) before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified (declared righteous).

Vincent comments on akroates in Romans 2:13:  Like the Jews, who heard it (the Law) regularly in the synagogues.... It brings out... the characteristic feature; those whose business is hearing. (The "business" of the Jews was to listen to the Word of God.)

Hiebert notes that...

Among the Greeks, akroates was a common term for persons who were attendants at a lecture but not disciples of the lecturer. They were hearers who in life did not follow the instructions given. It is a common human failing from which Christians are not exempt. If all who are auditors of the Word on Sunday would put it into practice during the week, what a difference that would make! Roberts tartly remarks, "Our churches are filled with spiritual sponges who soak up the information, sit, sour, and eventually stink!" (Ibid)

MacArthur writes that akroates was

a term used to describe students who audited a class. An auditor usually listens to the lectures, but is permitted to treat assignments and exams as optional. Many people in the church today approach spiritual truth with an auditor’s mentality, receiving God’s Word only passively. But James’ point, shown by his illustrations in James 1:23, 24, 25, 26, 27 (see notes  Js 1:23; 24; 25; 26; 27) is that merely hearing God’s Word results in worthless religion (see note James 1:26). In other words, mere hearing is no better than unbelief or outright rejection. In fact, it’s worse! The hearer-only is enlightened but unregenerate. James is reiterating truth he undoubtedly heard firsthand from the Lord Himself. Jesus warned powerfully against the error of hearing without doing (Mt 7:21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27 -see notes Mt 7:21;  22;  23;  24;  25;  26; 27), as did the apostle Paul (Ro 2:5-note). (MacArthur, J. The Gospel according to the Apostles:  Word Pub)

One source notes that...

In Classical Greek, the alternate akroázomai, to hear and the derivative akróama meant something heard, especially with pleasure, such as a piece read, recited, played, or sung. In the NT, it has the meaning of one just listening without practicing what one hears. (Zodhiates, S. The Complete Word Study Dictionary: NT)

Merely (only) (3440) (monos) means without accompaniment. Hearing is the only reaction. Hearing is unaccompanied by doing.

Scriptures related to this topic...

One that only hears and does nothing – Acts 26:22,23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29

An example of hearers and one doer – Mt 13:1-23

An example of two doers and one hearer – Mt 25:14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30

John Blanchard said that

The man who is not prepared to heed the Word of God obediently will not even be able to hear it correctly. This is why the parables become windows to some people and walls to others. (The Complete Gathered Gold- highly recommended resource for quotes) (Bolding added)

Delude (3884) (paralogizomai from para = beside, alongside + logizomai = to reason, to count) is literally to reason beside the point, to reason alongside (think about it as reasoning with words "alongside, beside or against" the Truth), to beguile by mere probability that something is true and so to mislead. To misjudge. To miscalculate. To cheat in reckoning. It pictures skewed logic and thus primarily means to reckon wrong, to reason falsely, and so to deceive by false reasoning.

Note the present tense indicates that they are continually in a state of spiritual deception, a dangerous place in which to be. The present tense further describes a process of self-deception by means of fallacious reasoning. This fearful state brings to mind Paul's charge in his second epistle to the Corinthians...

Test (peirazo- present imperative = calls for this be our habitual practice) yourselves (not others but yourself!) to see if you are in the faith; examine (dokimazo - present imperative = calls for this be our habitual practice) yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you-- unless indeed you fail the test (adokimos - word study)?

Comment: So what is the "test"? How do you "examine" yourself? He is not saying to "look within yourself" per se, but to look at the One Who is in you and look at the evidence that He is in you. What does that mean practically? Believer's Study Bible (Ref) explains that "this verse is not intended to rob believers of the assurance and security of their salvation. It is, however, intended as a warning to those who would follow false teaching and adopt a life-style that is inconsistent with the message of reconciliation (cf. 2Co 12:20, 21). To persist in either activity is a cause for serious introspection and a testing to see whether or not one is truly "in the faith."

Beloved, the Word of God is not meant to make us smarter sinners but to make us more like the Savior. And so it follows that it is not how much one is "in" the Word but really how much of the Word is "in" us, renewing and transforming our mind (cp Ro 12:2-note; Col 3:10-note; Ep 4:23-note), as demonstrated by our changed behavior (not just hearing but doing) (cp 2Co 5:17).

Notice that James mentions the idea of self deception (using a different verb) again in verse 26...

If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue (not a "doer") but deceives his own heart, this man's religion is worthless. (See note)

Cole makes a good point emphasizing that...

There is an inherent danger in attending a church where God’s word is proclaimed week to week: If you hear the word often, but do not put it into practice, you delude yourself. The solution is not to avoid hearing the word, but rather to apply it to the problems in your life that the word uncovers.

Hiebert explains that those who believed...

that attentive hearing of the Word was the fulfillment of all that was required, had been led astray from the path of truth. In resting satisfied with possessing the means of grace without applying it, they were the victims of their own deception. "It is sad to be deceived, most miserable to be self-deceived. Many still determine their godliness by the quality of hearing (for instance sermons) or reading (even God's word) instead of action and obedience." Jesus warns explicitly against this error (Mt 7:21-27; cf. Ro 2:17-25). (Ibid)

Paul used paralogizomai in his warning to the saints at Colossae emphasizing that in Christ...

are hidden all (how many?) the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. (Why is this truth so vitally important?) I say this in order that no one may delude (paralogizomai) you with persuasive argument (plausible, but false, speech ="believable" speech resulting from the use of well-constructed, probable arguments). (Col 2:3-note, Col 2:4-note)

from para, beside, contrary to, and logizomai, to reckon, and hence to conclude by reasoning. The deception referred to is, therefore, that into which one betrays himself by false reasoning — reasoning beside the truth.

How important is this truth in modern America where up to 50% of individuals surveyed profess to have had a "born again" experience? Beloved, it is a life or death matter (eternally speaking) and so it is crucial to understand what James is clearly stating. Douglas Moo explains that...

The idea of “deceive” in these contexts is clear: to be “deceived” is to be blinded to the reality of one’s true religious state. People can think that they are right with God when they really are not. And so it is for those people who “hear” the word—regular church attenders, seminary students (!), and even seminary professors (!!) — but do not “do” it. They are mistaken in thinking that they are truly right with God. For God’s word cannot be divided into parts. If one wants the benefits of its saving power, one must also embrace it as a guide for life. The person who fails to do the word, James therefore suggests (in an anticipation of his argument in Jas 2:14-26-see notes), is a person who has not truly accepted God’s word at all. (Moo, D. J.. The Letter of James. The Pillar New Testament Commentary . Grand Rapids, Mich.; Leicester, England: Eerdmans; Apollos)

John MacArthur adds that paralogizomai was a term used in mathematics meaning a miscalculation and concludes that...

Professing Christians who hear the Word without obeying it make a serious "spiritual miscalculation", which causes them to delude themselves. Such a man does not delude anyone but himself! They are self-deceived. An old Scottish expression speaks of such deluded professors as

“sermon tasters who never tasted the grace of God.”

Any response to the gospel that does not include obedience is self-deception. (Ed note: See related discussion - relationship of faith and obedience) If a profession of faith in Christ does not result in a changed life that hungers and thirsts for God’s Word and desires to obey that Word, the profession is only that - a mere profession. Satan, of course, loves such professions, because they give church members the damning notion that they are saved when they are not! They still belong to him, not God. (Macarthur J. James. Moody or Logos)

Comment: MacArthur's explanation helps us understand Jesus' stern and even frightening warning that

not everyone who says to Me Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does (present tense = continually, not perfectly for no man can do that in this life, but "keeping" as the general direction of one's life) the will of My Father who is in heaven." (Mt 7:21, 22, 23 -see notes - Mt 7:21; 22; 23)

Jesus says that one reason why so few enter the narrow gate of salvation (cp Mt 7:13, 14-note) is because of self-deception. As J. C. Ryle said

The Lord Jesus wind