TRUE AND FALSE RELIGION (James 1:26, 27)
Most people, Christian and non-Christian are uncomfortable with this word religion. For some people the word religion conjures up images of priests in ecclesiastical robes, and bells and smells. Some Christians who have got this kind of dead formality in mind seem overly anxious to let it be known; “I am not religious.” But according to James there is such a thing as pure religion and it is nothing less than the way that God wants you to live. What does true godliness look like.
- A CONTROLLED TONGUE
The first mark of a Christian is a controlled tongue. In vrs 26 James could not be more blunt; if anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. The words that we speak and the manner in which speak them give others a clear pointer as to the true state of our hearts. Jesus himself said so in Matthew 12:24; for out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man brings good out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil out of the evil stored up in him. Think of the many ways we can major in corrupt speech. Gossip (Proverbs 18:8), flattery (Proverbs 29:5), argumentativeness (Proverbs 17:14), lying (Proverbs 26:28) and slander (Ephesians 4:31). A failure to control our tongues reveals a lack of grace in our hearts. In James 3 we will have a more comprehensive look at the way in which we use our tongues. In Proverbs 18:21 Solomon says; the tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit. A tongue controlled by the speaker is indicative of a heart controlled by the Saviour. It is as serious as that. - A CARING MINISTRY
In vrs 27 we read; religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after the orphans and widows in their distress. Of course in doing this we are really mimicking God Himself. In Psalm 68:5 our heavenly Father is described as a Father to the fatherless, a defender of widows. In Micah 6:8 we are told he has showed you, O man what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. Mercy was a quality that was in short supply in the Roman empire. They gloried in justice, courage, discipline and power. They looked down on mercy. It was not uncommon to take children and expose them outside the city gates. We have a record of a second century letter from a man called Aristides to the Emperor Hadrian. He describes his fellow Christians as follows; “They love one another. They never fail to help widows; they save orphans from those who would hurt them. If they have something they give freely to the man who has nothing. If they see a stranger, they take him home, and are happy, as though he were a real brother.” They exercised caring ministries. They practiced what James would call religion that is pure and faultless. - A CONSECRATED LIFE
Notice what James says in vrs 27; religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this . . . to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. Holiness of life is one of the distinguishing marks of the Christian. In 1 Peter 1:15 we are given the reason for our need to pursue holiness. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written, Be holy, because I am holy. In Colossians 3:1, 2 we are exhorted to set our hearts and our minds on things above, where Christ is seated. If we are serious about this Paul says in vrs 5 that we will crucify whatever belongs to our old sinful natures. JC Ryle once wrote an excellent article entitled; Suppose an unholy person were to go to heaven. He argues as follows. “Suppose for a moment that you were allowed to enter heaven without holiness. What would you do? What possible enjoyment would you feel there? If in this life we prefer the company of the worldly minded and the ungodly, we will have a problem in heaven. Because there are no such people there. If we find the company of Christians on earth to be boring and too serious, again you will have a problem. There is no other company in heaven. If you find the Lord’s day to be a burden and merely to be endured, you have a problem. Heaven is a never ending Sabbath which you would not possibly enjoy. Then Ryle says this; “heaven will be a miserable place to an unholy person.” Do you see now why Hebrews 12:14 says without holiness no man shall see the Lord. We need to cultivate an appetite for heaven here. The puritan Preacher William Gurnall once said; “Say not that thou hast royal blood in thy veins, and art born of God, except thou canst prove thy pedigree by daring to be holy.”