James 1:25 “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.”
A “hearer” is a “born again” (John 3:1-8) Child of God that has the God-given “hearing ear, and the seeing eye” (Proverbs 20:12). These Children of God have the hungering desire to hear, the ability to hear, and the ability to understand what they hear. Contextually, they can hear and rejoice in the Gospel-truth that Jesus Christ “hath made” us “free from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:2); that is, “the perfect law of liberty”. The Children of God who hear and rejoice in the blessed Gospel for a moment, and then give in to the carnal enticements of this present world; they are “forgetful” hearers. The carnal enticements under consideration here are those religious teachings and practices that deny the absolute “finished” work of our Eternal Salvation (John 19:30) and place man on a coequal basis with God. Such teachings give man the final say in his Eternal Salvation, which is rejected by the Word of God (John 6:37-40; Ephesians 1:4; I Peter 1:2; …). It is sad, for misery, shame, and pain lies ahead for those who so glorify themselves and not God; for, “broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction,” in this present life, “and many there be which go in thereat” (Matthew 7:13). Our God has plainly declared, “I will not give my glory unto another” (Isaiah 48:11). Therefore, let us not be “a forgetful hearer”; but, “Give glory to the LORD your God, before he cause darkness, and before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains, and, while ye look for light, he turn it into the shadow of death, and make it gross darkness.” (Jeremiah 13:16).