A few weeks ago, I wrote No Points for Listening, where Jesus puts the premium not on being entertained by sermons but on putting the Word into practice.

Turns out the concept goes WAY back, at least to the well-known SHEMA:

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. (Deuteronomy 6.4, NIV)

Here’s a well-done definition of SHEMA:

Shema, in the simplest terms, means ‘to hear’. The Hebrew word pronunciation sounds more like “sh’-mah”. But it also means to obey and take action. So, to hear God is to obey God—and to obey God is to hear God. (I don’t remember where I found this definition.)

“It also means to obey and take action.”

Jesus was certainly clear on that:

And everyone hearing these words of Mine and not doing them, may be compared to a foolish man who built his house on the sand. (Matthew 7.26, LSB)

Here’s one of the verses Jesus quoted during his temptation in the wilderness (Matthew 4.1 – 11):

You shall not put the LORD your God to the test, as you tested him at Massah. You shall diligently keep the commandments of the LORD your God, and his testimonies and his statutes, which he has commanded you. And you shall do what is right and good in the sight of the LORD, that it may go well with you, and that you may go in and take possession of the good land that the LORD swore to give to your fathers by thrusting out all your enemies from before you, as the LORD has promised. (Deuteronomy 6.16 – 19, ESV, emphasis mine)

“…keep the commandments.” It’s not enough to hear them. Hearing must be accompanied by obedience.

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. (James 1.22, NIV)